Martin Garrix's Favorite Things

posted by Nicole Mastrogiannis
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2 years ago

At only 17 years old, Martin Garrix has made quite the name for himself in the world of dance music. His massive single "Animals" was not only huge at all the major festivals and clubs, but on mainstream radio as well. And he's only getting started.

Martin has just launched his "We Are Animals" North American tour, thriving on the success of his tremendous hit, and his most recent release with Jay Hardway, "Wizard" - which was premiered by Tiesto in the fall. Martin tells us the legendary DJ is a big inspiration to him.

Martin tells us, "Tiesto is the person who got me into electronic music. He played during the Olympics and that was, for me, the moment I got in touch with electronic music. And I started buying CDs and after a few years I started producing my own stuff."

Garrix also tells us he will appear at some "really big festivals" this year, and he's got some more new music on the way!

Martin stopped by iHeartRadio headquarters when he was in New York City, where he let us in on the stuff he loves the most. Get to know Martin Garrix by discovering some of his Favorite Things below.

Favorite animal: I love lions, and if I could be an animal I’d love to be a bird or something, 'cause what I’d really want to do is fly and see the world from above. But I really don’t have one favorite animal. I like all animals.

Favorite moment of your career so far: I’ve had a lot of moments I've really liked, but one of the moments, which was really, really important for me, was definitely the U.K. number 1 entry [for "Animals"]. When we got the news it was really crazy, we were with family and friends, and we celebrated it, and also with the team. Also Tomorrowland - I was there in the crowd and "Animals" was played all the time - it was really, really crazy.

Did people recognize you when you were in the crowd with your friends?

No, I actually had a hoodie on.

Favorite Producer or DJ: Deorro and Jay Hardway. They’re really for a specific signature sound. They’re refreshing, and their stuff works really great live.

Favorite guilty pleasure song or artist: I don't think I have one, butJustin Bieber had one track recently which I really like – I don’t know. It was one Justin Bieber track but it’s not a guilty pleasure so people can know (laughs).

Your favorite way to pass the time when you’re bored at the airport or the hotel: Sleeping (laughs) – Definitely sleeping.

Favorite thing about your hometown Amsterdam: The vibe. Everybody is one. You can dress how crazy you want to get dressed or you can look as crazy as you want to, and nobody will look differently to you. I think in a lot of countries and cities they can learn from Amsterdam in that way.

Favorite place to go when you’re there: I love Club Air. It’s like a pretty new club and hosts some really sick parties. Afrojack has his own night there, and it’s a beautiful club, great sound system. I've played there a few times and I really like it.

Favorite food to eat while you’re on the road: Definitely not food on the plane (laughs). I love to eat steak and sushi and pizza, but it depends what continent or country I’m in. If I’m in Asia I love to eat local food, or if I’m in Italy I love to eat pizza or seafood or, depends.

Favorite gift you received from a fan or your favorite fan moment: I was in India. It was two weeks ago and there was a guy who made like a board with “Martin Garrix For Life” and he made his own shirt with my head on it with #MG4LIFE. And the whole set he was in the front with the board jumping, and at the end I said to security to pick this guy to come backstage and to take a picture. I actually posted a picture as well on Facebook because it’s crazy how dedicated somebody can be. That was definitely my favorite fan moment.

Favorite city you’ve visited: Los Angeles. I really like New York, although I didn’t see that much yet, and Paris is really great. The people, the parties are really great. Definitely in L.A. and Paris, I haven’t been to parties in New York yet but that will change very soon.

Favorite person to follow on Twitter: It’s like a woman who’s like anti-smoking weed. Funniest tweets ever. Besides that I really love to follow Dillon Francis because his tweets are really funny.

Favorite perk of being a musician: You make people happy with what you’re doing. And what I’m doing makes me happy also. So I’m happy and other people are happy, that’s definitely one of the perks of being a musician.

Favorite thing to do with your friends: Just hang out, grab a few drinks and just chill at one of our houses. If I have free time I prefer just to hang out with friends or family or just be in the studio to make music.

Favorite famous wizard: The Wizard Of Oz.

Your favorite "Animals" remix: It’s by this guy called Jay Ronkol. I’ve heard a lot of remixes already, some of them I hear very often, but that’s a pretty recent new remix which I really like.